Australia’s Defence Force Manual (1994), in a provision dealing with prisoners of war, provides: “Protected from the moment of their surrender or capture, prisoners of war must not be made the object of attack or reprisals.”

Australia’s Commanders’ Guide (1994), referring to Article 46 of the 1949 Geneva Convention I, Article 47 of the 1949 Geneva Convention II and Article 20 of the 1977 Additional Protocol I, states: “Protected persons, such as … wounded and sick … should not be the subject of reprisals.”

Australia’s Defence Force Manual (1994) provides: “Reprisals against the wounded, sick, shipwrecked … are forbidden.” It further states: “Protected persons, such as … wounded and sick … should not be the subject of reprisals.”

Australia’s Commanders’ Guide (1994), referring to Article 46 of the 1949 Geneva Convention I, Article 47 of the 1949 Geneva Convention II and Article 20 of the 1977 Additional Protocol I, states: “Protected persons, such as medical personnel … should not be the subject of reprisals.”

Australia’s Defence Force Manual (1994) provides: “Reprisals against … medical personnel … are forbidden.” It also states: “Protected persons, such as medical personnel … should not be the subject of reprisals.”

At the CDDH, Australia proposed an amendment to Article 20 of the draft Additional Protocol I which read: “Measures in the nature of reprisals against the persons and objects protected by this Part are prohibited.”

However, the Australian delegation noted: “The law concerning reprisals was far from settled and it might be found not to be applicable to peoples fighting wars of self-determination to which draft [Additional Protocol I] had now been extended.”

Australia’s Defence Force Manual (1994), in a provision entitled “Effects of occupation on the population”, states: “Measures for the control of the population which are prohibited include: … reprisals or collective penalties”.

Australia, The Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict, Australian Defence Doctrine Publication 06.4, Australian Defence Headquarters, 11 May 2006, § 5.35; see also § 9.21.

The manual further states: “G. P. I [1977 Additional Protocol I] extends the categories of persons and objects against whom reprisals are prohibited to [include] … civilians and the civilian population”.

Australia, The Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict, Australian Defence Doctrine Publication 06.4, Australian Defence Headquarters, 11 May 2006, § 13.20.

The LOAC Manual (2006) replaces both the Defence Force Manual (1994) and the Commanders’ Guide (1994).

During the Second Reading Speech of the Geneva Conventions Amendment Bill 1990, the purpose of which was to amend the Geneva Conventions Act 1957 so as to enable Australia to ratify the 1977 Additional Protocol I, Australia’s Attorney-General stated:

He [the shadow Attorney-General] called in particular for a reservation on the prohibition on reprisals contained in the protocol. A reservation on reprisals would not be accepted by some countries. A reservation would operate reciprocally between Australia and a future enemy also party to the protocol. If we did that, it would reduce the level of protection afforded by the protocol to Australian civilians and civilian objects.

None of the 99 countries which have become party to the protocol have seen the need to make such a reservation – not one of them. The prohibition on reprisals in the protocol is not a total prohibition. Reprisals are prohibited against civilians, cultural objects and places of worship, objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, the environment, dams, dykes and nuclear electrical generating stations containing dangerous forces. The prohibition on reprisals represents an important development in protection of civilians against the horrors of modern warfare.